Although once a means for human survival, fishing in the modern age has evolved into more of a competitive and recreational sport. To increase their chances for a successful outing, modern anglers prefer to utilize equipment and devices that they know will work and that they can rely on. Though not completely fool-proof, many fishing accessories have improved simply because technology and manufacturing methods have improved as well. This makes fishing equipment more reliable and affordable. In the view of this inventor, however, there is always room for improvement of equipment and the traditional landing net is one such piece of equipment that anglers and others have sought to improve over the years. The landing net is one piece of equipment that anglers have used for many years to help reduce the load that is otherwise placed on the angler's lure and on the line that is connected to it when pulling a fish into a boat or onto shore, thereby also reducing the risk of losing the hooked fish.
Landing nets of recent design tend to include three elements: a hoop which supports the net, an extensible handle, and a yoke. The function of the landing net yoke is to provide an attachment means between the hoop and the handle such that the landing net can be readily changed from a stored or collapsed position to an active or extended position by telescoping the handle and locking it into a fixed position relative to the hoop and net. The traditional yoke has been around for over twenty years. The first ones were tube steel or aluminum that was welded together. They progressed to stampings that were fastened together and then to the extruded aluminum that is popular today. Some yokes that require less strength have been injection molded out of polypropylene. Regardless of the design, the traditional operation for all yoked landing nets is the same. The yoke and hoop assembly is slid along the handle to the end position. A spring button within the handle is manually depressed so that the yoke can slide over it. The yoke is then positioned so that the spring button can extend into a hole within the yoke. The yoke is now in a fixed position.
There are, however, disadvantages to the old and currently available yoked landing net assemblies. For example, to move the yoke from its fixed position, the spring button must be manually depressed to allow the yoke to engage it. This takes extra time in a situation that is required to be done as quickly as possible. If the spring button does not line up with the hole in the yoke, the yoke can be over-extended from the handle, thereby disconnecting it from the handle. Another disadvantage is that different yokes are required for each handle and hoop combination. This makes yokes of current design unusable with multiple shapes of handles and hoops. Another disadvantage is that, if the yoke is made of a metallic material, the yoke is susceptible to corrosion or oxidation between the yoke and the handle, which is also typically made of a metallic material.
Accordingly, what is needed is a landing net assembly whereby the handle can be slid into a fixed position without manually activating the spring button, thus making the net easier and quicker to use. What is also needed is an automatic locking yoke designed for use as a part of such a landing net assembly whereby the yoke does not allow the spring button to miss the hole, thus making the net more reliable in use. What is also needed is an automatic locking yoke that is designed for use as a part of such a landing net assembly whereby the yoke geometry allows multiple shapes of hoops and handles to be used, thus making the yoke design much more valuable due to manufacturability. What is also needed is an automatic locking yoke of such design that is manufactured of a material that does not allow corrosion or oxidation between the yoke and the handle.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful automatic landing net yoke whereby the handle can be slid into a fixed position without manually activating the spring button, thus making the net easier and quicker to use. It is another object to provide such an automatic landing net yoke whereby the yoke does not allow the spring button to miss the hole, thus making the net more reliable in its use. It is yet another object to provide such a yoke whereby the yoke geometry allows multiple shapes of hoops and handles to be used, thus making the yoke design much more valuable due to manufacturability. It is still another object to provide such a yoke whereby the yoke of such design is manufactured of a material that does not allow corrosion or oxidation between the yoke and the handle. Additional objects of the present invention are to provide such a yoke that is lightweight, strong, and no more expensive to produce than currently available parts are, thus making the yoke useful and affordable.